Directors still behind the camera at Wareham Media

Wareham Media's new directors may have taken over managing the company in April, but they're not just managers.

Director of Operations and Creativity Christian Fernandes and Director of Growth and Government Relations still record videos around town and train community members to produce their own content, all while managing the organization. 

Wareham Media is a nonprofit media center and the local public access cable station in town. The organization covers local events, government meetings and provides access to its studio and production equipment for members. 

Fernandes said he's been working for Wareham Media for 17 years. Before entering his director role, Fernandes worked as a liaison between Wareham Media and the town's public schools. In 2014, he became an assistant director at the company and in 2023, was promoted to be a senior producer.

Day started at Wareham Media in 2016 as a part-time employee doing "miscellaneous work" in video production and editing. He described himself as born-and-raised Wareham.

Day said his mother worked for Wareham superintendent when he was growing up and he would spend a lot of time in Wareham's Town Hall building.

"I would go from school directly to the Town Hall, do my homework in the clerk's office, so I kind of lived there anyways," he said.

He didn't go far. Day is still regularly at the Town Hall recording government meetings as the company's Director of Growth and Government Relations. 

Retirements and staff turnover left Wareham Media on the hunt for a new manager earlier this year, when it was suggested that Fernandes and Day take the helm. Instead of taking on new, managerial roles, Day and Fernandes kept their old responsibilities and tacked on some directoral ones. 

Fernandes described him and Day as "the executive director split in two." Although Day said that the split up between the two directors "isn't really that taxing" on either of them, despite the extra responsibilities. 

Fernandes said that one of his goals is to bring in new members who create content for the station themselves. He added that he wants to help equip the public with the tools to tell their own stories. 

"We have always been a teaching station," Day said. 

Day said it costs $15 per year for individual memberships, which include equipment check-outs, editing and video production training. Residents can make content to broadcast onto Wareham Media's channel. 

The two directors say they make a good pair. 

"We work really well together," Day said. "We always have."

Fernandes agreed. 

"He does things that I can't do. I do things he can't do," Fernandes said.